Our Facebook post today asks what’s your favourite rainy day dish. There’s a picture of a gorgeous bowl of soup – something we all love when the weather turns damp. October has been a mix of rain and sunny days – but there’s definitely a nip in the air and the need for something comforting to combat the autumn chill. Comments so far on rainy day dishes include a gorgeous seasonal Pumpkin Soup, hot stew, and Dublin Coddle.The latter is a stew made from pork and bacon – it was originally the Dublin version of Irish stew, with pork used because lamb was not readily available to city dwellers. A Hot Pot cooked in the slow cooker was also on your list of faves. We agree with that one. Slow cookers are brilliant little gadgets that allow you to prepare a dish in the morning (or the night before) and leave it on all day while you go about your business. Guaranteed warmth and comfort food when you get home in the evening!For this writer, a favourite rainy day dish has to be something spicy that keeps out the cold. Chilli Con Carne – an age old and probably ‘past it’s sell-by’ dish in the trend department – is nevertheless still delicious. The mix of best mince, tomatoes, chillies, onions, garlic and red kidney beans is hard to resist.  Serve it with rice or mashed potatoes – whichever you fancy. It’s easy eating either way. If you have a slow cooker, make it in that the night before you want to eat it – Chilli always tastes better the next day! Fry onions, garlic and a hot chilli or two in oil, then transfer to the slow cooker or a heavy bottomed saucepan. Seal the mince in the frying pan to brown then add to the onion mix. Pour over best quality chopped tomatoes and add a little beef stock. Bring to bubbling.  If you are using a slow cooker – pour it all in there at this point, pop on the lid and cook on low heat setting for a few hours – nothing can happen to it and the mince will be meltingly tender. Add the beans and leave them to Cook in the chilli for at least half an hour more.  With conventional cooking in a saucepan, cover with a lid and let the Chilli simmer very gently for at least an hour and a half, till the meat is tender. Add the kidney beans and seasoning, with lots of chopped fresh parsley. Simmer for another 10 minutes till the beans are heated through. Whichever way you cook it, get ready to enjoy a time honoured classic with a bit of built in heat!